Iridescent
by Take Me Drunk I'm Home
Summary: Has been transferred over to AstronSoul, who will now take charge of it. Please go read it.
1. Chapter 1

"Iridescent"

Chapter One

The whole entire planet shook with such power, it's insides began to crumble. This all began after Orphan had finally fallen to it's knees. The six people who had taken it down still remained inside the crumbling planet. They began being lifted into the air. Not all of them... all but two. The other two, Oerba Yun Fang and Oerba Dia Vanille, began to sink. Sink down to the bottom... sink down to their ends, to their beginnings, to their pasts and to their futures. Sink down to whatever lay ahead. The others above looked on in bewilderment. None of them knew what to say, for they knew what was happening.

The dark haired woman, named Fang, realized what was happening all too quick. She didn't know what to do, not that she could do anything at all. She stared up at the others. Lightning Farron, Snow Villiers, Sazh Katzroy, and Hope Eisthem all stared back at her with the same face. Disbelief.

She looked back at Vanille, seeing a very pained expression upon her features. It made Fang's stomach churn at the sight. But, seeing this, made something in her brain spark all of a sudden. A new light had entered her vision, a new idea had formed. She finally found what she had been searching for. An answer to all of the pain that had laid ahead. No... not any more. All she can see now was pure light, and happiness. Like a glimpse into the future. If she could at least help Vanille make it out of here, then that would be good enough. It would make Fang happy.

In one quick instant, Fang grabbed Vanille's wrist. Vanille jumped at Fang's rough grip. Fang began to absorb the energy from Vanille, the energy needed to hold up Cocoon. They both knew that they had to be crystalized in order to keep up the planet, but Fang wasn't going to let this happen. No, not to Vanille... she didn't deserve this, it was her own fault after all. Vanille stared down at her wrist, and then back up at Fang. She had no idea what was going on.

"Fang, what are you doing!" Vanille yelled at her, confused. Fang smiled as a single tear rolled down her tan cheek. "I'm doing what's best, Vanille."

Vanille gave her a strange look, before slipping into unconsciousness after all of her enegy was drained away. Her body began to float as well. Just as planned. Fang thought. She looked up at Lightning. She knew deep down in her heart, that only she would be the one. The one to protect and take care of Vanille. After seeing Lightning go through all of this, just to save her sister, Fang knew she would be the prime candidate.

"Hey, Sunshine!" Fang yelled loudly up at Lightning. That was her special nickname for the pink-haired woman.

Lightning gave her a strange look, as if asking her what the hell she was doing, only with her eyes. Fang smirked, then passed Vanille's limp body toward her way.

"Take care of her..." Fang said, loud enough so that only Lightning could hear.

Lightning's eyes almost bulged out of her head. She indeed had heard her correctly, but she just couldn't believe it. She caught Vanille's waist with her free arm. Soon, the five of them all began to glow a strange color.

"Aye Farron! Hurt her and I'll come back for you!" Fang laughed as they all started to fade. Lightning gave a nod. Fang had trusted her with her best friend's life. That was a promise that she'd have to keep and never break, no matter the cost. They all disappeared in a swift movement of vanishing light, leaving Fang to do the rest on her own.

"Here goes..." Fang whispered as she transformed.

Cocoon had been crystalized. It looked beautiful with the sun's light reflecting off of it. Down in the grasslands below, stood five crystalized figures. They too, looked magnificent in the sunlight. They all began to shatter. One by one. They revealed the frozen-in-place bodies underneath. Lightning, Snow, Vanille, Sazh, and Hope.

Lightning stared up at the planet above, thinking, that all of that was being held up by one person. A single human-being. Fang. This reminded her of... Vanille. Lightning quickly turned around, and found Vanille staring up at the planet as well. Tears started to form, and that was Lightning's cue. She walked over to the red-headed girl, and rest her arm lightly on the girl's shoulder. Vanille just looked at Lightning, and the next second, she had wrapped herself around the pink-haired woman's waist.

"Why is Fang such an idiot?" Vanilled sobbed into Lightning's chest. Lightning, not really knowing what to do, just wrapped her arms around the girl. This had not been her forte, and the last time she had done this was about five years ago with Serah. Serah had been upset about their parents' death. She would have periods in her life that would bring her back to her parents, and remind her of how much she misses them.

Lightning decided to bring light to the girl's eyes, to look at the positive side of this.

"She did this for you, you know." Lightning whispered. Vanille cried a bit harder.

Smooth, Lightning. Now look what you did. Lightning scolded herself. Try again...

"She wanted you to be happy... " Lightning tried to soothe her again.

Vanille gripped onto her tighter, but her crying began to slow. Lightning took this as a positive sign, and decided to continue.

"She will be back, we just don't know exactly when." Lightning whispered as she rubbed small circles over the girl's back.

Vanille nodded as she listened to Lightning, agreeing with her.

"My brand... it's gone!" Hope yelled suddenly. Lightning and Vanille pulled away from each other. Vanille was sniffling as she checked under her skirt, and Lightning checked her chest. It's true. Their l'Cie markings had vanished.

"Alright!" Snow cheered.

Sazh laughed, his nice white teeth showing. His baby chocobo cheered along with him, giving little 'kwehs'. Hope smiled at the sight of clear skin.

Lightning turned back to Vanille, whose face still held a sad expression. Her face was still wet from tears. Lightning stretched her hand out and wiped the tears from the girl's face. Vanille's face turned pink from the woman's soft touch. Lightning leaned in beside Vanille's head, making the young girl blush even more. She could actually smell the woman's scent. Roses, lavender, and... strawberries?

"With Fang knowing that you're here, it makes her happy the most. So you should make the best of this... at least for her..." Lightning whispered into her ear. Lightning pulled back, and gave Vanille a small reassuring smile.

Seeing Lightning smile for the first time... it made Vanille smile. Vanille nodded, and looked back up at the crystalized planet of Cocoon. Lightning rested her hand on the small of Vanille's back as she followed Vanille's gaze.

"It's what she would want for me, right?" Vanille asked. "For me to be happy?"

"Yes... that's probably the only thing she wants-"

Suddenly, cheerful screams were heard. They turned around, and were met by two familiar faces.

"Daddy!" Dajh screamed joyfully he ran into his father's arms. Serah came running up to Snow.

"Serah!" Snow laughed as he hugged the small girl. Big smiles were plastered onto their faces.

"Snow!" Serah smiled as she was being twirled around.

Lightning let go of Vanille, so that she could reunite with her sister once again.

After so long, they could finally meet again...

Snow set Serah down, and she jogged over to Lightning. They instantly clung to each other.

"I missed you." Serah nearly cried, as she gripped onto Lightning even tighter.

"Serah," Lightning began softly. "I'm sorry..." Tears were on the verge of falling from Lightning's eyes.

Serah pulled away, and gave her a smile. "It's okay."

"Hey, hey, hey! No time for apologies... We have a wedding to plan!" Snow butted in with such enthusiasm.

As the families chatted amongst themselves, the two youngest of them all, Hope and Vanille, stood a distance away. They just observed what was happening, there wasn't anything that they could do. They had no loved ones that could greet them back. Lightning turned towards them, and saw them standing there awkwardly. She walked over to them, and gave them a small smile.

"Are you alright being over here by yourselves?" Lightning asked the both of them. Serah Snow, Sazh, and his son Dajh watched the three of them from a distance.

"Mhm," Vanille affirmed as she gave a small nod. "I just feel like I would be intruding if I was over there with you..." Vanille whispered truthfully.

Lightning glanced over at Hope, and he gave a small nod. So, he felt the same. Lightning looked back over at Vanille again.

"You need to be over here with us..." She said to Vanille. Vanille gave her a questioning look.

"Why...?" Vanille almost whispered. Lightning stared at her, thinking of a way to word it... You have no where to go so you have to stay with me. That sounded a little too... bold? No, maybe just too forward.

"You're going to have to get to know to us anyway," Lightning said slowly. "Because, you're going to be living with me."

Vanille's eyes widened in shock.

* * *

><p>AN: So, there's chapter numero uno for you ;D Hope you liked it. Leave a review, if you can.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Wow, I had an unexpected number of readers for the first chapter, and I'd like to thank all that had left a review. Your kind words have encouraged me to write this chapter quicker. Please enjoy.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Two<span>

"W-What?" Perhaps she hadn't heard her clearly.

"You're going to be living with Serah and I... Well, with just me soon." Lightning explained, kind of sad inside that Serah was going to leave so soon.

Vanille couldn't bring herself to say anything, because she didn't exactly know how she felt right then. She felt happy, because she could have a place to call home and family to go to. She felt sad that Fang could not be here with her. She felt shocked, because _the_ Lightning Farron had just offered her, well rather commanded her, that she would be to live with her. It was just a mix of emotions, and her brain just couldn't process them all at once.

Lightning saw the troubled expression on the younger girl's face. She also noticed that Hope seemed a bit shocked too, with his mouth hanging open and everything. Lightning decided to clear things up a bit.

"I made a promise with Fang..." Lightning said in a strong, yet soothing voice.

Vanille looked up at the woman again.

"Before she got crystallized..." Lightning's voice sounding more soft now. "I promised her that I would look after you... _protect_ you... and I intend on honoring that..." Lightning said, the whole time while staring into Vanille's emerald green eyes.

Lightning wanted to let her know that Fang had trusted her with the goal of protecting her life.

For Vanille, it struck home. The thought that Fang had handed the responsibility to Lightning was almost unbearable. For Fang to trust this woman enough to protect her, must have meant so much. Vanille's eyes became watery, but tears never fell.

"I... I can take care of myself." Vanille said, half of her agreeing with herself, the other half... not so much.

_What the hell am I thinking? I definitely can't be alone now in the state that I'm in. Fang made Lightning promise to watch over me anyway. So, there's no point in denying her of her help..._

_...Yeah, but I can totally take care of myself. Sure it was awfully kind of her, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I can't handle myself... right? I'm not that bad when I'm emotionally unstable... oh wait... never mind... _

Vanille was internally conflicting with herself, all the while Lightning was talking to her. Lightning noticed that the young girl hadn't been paying attention to what she was saying.

"Vanille!" Lightning snapped her fingers in front of her face, hoping she would come out of her daze.

"H-Huh?" Vanille nearly screamed. Vanille blushed heavily as realization hit her. Hit her like a sports car driving at full speed.

"_Anyway_," Lightning began, in hopes of ending this awkwardness, "you are going to be living with us. Conscious or not." She whispered the last sentence dangerously low.

Hope and Vanille looked at her with slight fear.

"Kidding..." Lightning said in a not-so-amused tone.

"Sure doesn't sound like you were joking." Sazh said jokingly as he, his son Dajh, Snow, and Serah walked up behind the middle-aged man. Lightning just rolled her eyes, and ignored him completely.

The whole group was together now.

"Lightning-"

"Call me Light." Lightning had interrupted Vanille.

"Um, _Light_, are you sure about this?" Vanille asked. It's not that she wanted to live there, but she just didn't feel like intruding.

"Completely."

"What are you guys talking about?" Serah asked as she looked at Lightning and Vanille.

_She might as well know now..._ Lightning thought.

"Vanille is going to be living with us... once we have our house built." Lightning said, remembering that they weren't on Cocoon anymore, and that they'd have to start building whole cities from bottom to top. It'll probably take a couple of years, and a lot of hard work.

Snow knew why Vanille was going to be living with them, he had heard everything, even if he wasn't supposed to, but Serah didn't have a clue as to why. She looked at Lightning questioningly. An idea had popped into her head, and blushed at the thought.

_No! They possibly couldn't be... could they?_ Serah thought as her eyes darted back and fourth between the two.

"Are you two... uh... t-together?" Serah dared to ask. It took them all a while to process what she had said, not really knowing what she had meant. But, after a few more seconds, they all had realized it. Lightning and Vanille's faces instantly turned a noticeable red. Lightning's from rage and humiliation, and Vanille's from pure embarrassment. The others erupted out in loud laughter.

"Hehe, nice one kid!" Sazh said as he held onto his stomach from laughing too hard.

"Ahaha! That was a good one, Serah!" Snow said in a voice that only Serah could tell was a lie, and elbowed her. He leaned down into her ear, and said, "That's not it, Serah. I'll tell you about it later..."

Serah instantly regretted what she said, but it was too late for what was about to come.

"Serah..." Lightning began through clenched teeth, "What makes you think _that_?"

"Lightning! Don't you know me? I was just joking!" She tried to tag along with Snow, and just play it off.

"..." Lightning glared at her, but never responded back to Serah's previous statement.

"Daddy, I don't get it..." Dajh said as he stared up at his father with his big brown eyes.

Sazh nealt down, "Don't worry about it, son. It was just a joke." He pat his son on his head, and Sazh's chocobo jumped out and gave a loud 'kweh'.

"But that's not nice, laughing at people... just 'cause they're different..." He said in such an adorable way, that even Lightning felt her lips tugging at the corners.

"Awwww..." Snow and Serah said together.

"Heh, I think he supports you two..." Sazh said, but instantly regretted it.

Lightning was giving him the stare of death, and Sazh just felt like digging his own grave just to never see those daggers again.

"But sweetie, we're not... _together_..." Vanille said awkwardly as she was crouched down to be level with the young boy's face.

Dajh stared at her, blinked several times, then looked up at Lightning, and back at Vanille again.

"But, why?" He asked his head tilted to the side questioningly.

"Why...?" Vanille asked as she looked up at Lightning, wondering what she could say to the boy. Lightning shrugged her shoulders, not really knowing what to say either.

"But you guys would be perfect together!" Dajh whined, somewhat unhappy.

Incoming!~ BOOM! The red faces have crash-landed once again. This time, Lightning and Vanille were red from the neck up. Nothing was going to stop what was about to happen...

"AWWW!" Snow and Serah nearly screamed this time, both clinging onto each other and jumping up and down like little girls.

Vanille had her hands covering her face. She just felt like passing out, right then and there, just from the amount of blood rushing up to her head.

Sazh put his gloved hands up to his mouth, trying to suppress his laughter, and all that could be heard was, "Pffft!Pffft!Pffft!" Until he finally couldn't hold it in anymore, and just exploded in laughter.

Hope too, was blushing like a little girl. The thought of them two being together... made him oddly _hot_ for some strange reason...

And, poor little Dajh, just stood there looking at everyone's weird reactions.

"Can we just drop this?" Lightning mumbled, arms folded, and turned around to hide her blush from the rest of the group.

"Ha... At least my son isn't judgmental of people..." Sazh smiled as picked up the boy, and placed him on his shoulders.

"I learned from you, Daddy..." Dajh looked at his dad, then gave a big, toothy smile.

Serah and Snow nearly fell over, due to the amount of cuteness radiating from Sazh's son. Lightning, Hope, and Vanille smiled at the young lad. Lightning's eyes traveled elsewhere. A couple miles from where they were standing, was a beach...

_A beach..._ Lightning thought. _ New... Bodhum... New Bodhum...!_ Lightning's eyes grew wide for a second. Serah saw this and walked up to her sister.

"What's wrong, Light?" Serah whispered to her.

"There." Lightning said, as she pointed towards the faraway beach.

"What?" Serah asked confusingly, as she looked in that direction.

"New Bodhum will be there..." Lightning said, a small smile gracing her lips. Serah saw the beach, and a big smile grew on her face.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, that's all for chapter two... kinda shorter than the first chapter. I wanted to give you readers a more comedic chapter since the last one was kind of depressing... I hope you liked it, and remember to leave a review ^.^


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey, guys. I'd like to thank all that had left a review... and I'd like to personally thank Light27 for helping me write this chapter. Now, on with the new chap!

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Three<span>

For the next few weeks, they had been beginning the construction for their new city, New Bodhum. The blueprints of the layout of the city have already been completed, and now they were out searching for supplies such as base wood, concrete, and other materials needed to create the buildings and houses. For now, they had to sleep in tents. For Lightning, Snow, Hope, Vanille, and Sazh, it seemed like a luxury. Having to sleep on the cold, hard dirt for such a long time was very rough for them. They wouldn't have to do that anymore though, because they were going to have beds to sleep in, houses to live in, and a place to call home.

A large aircraft flew in and landed at the temporary air base they created using large rocks and knocked down trees as the circumference. In the aircraft it were more people from Cocoon, and more supplies needed to survive. Food, water, and medicines were what mostly are in the packages. The ones driving the aircraft, Sazh Katzroy and his co-pilot Lightning Farron. They jumped out of their cockpit, and headed towards the unloading area.

"Alright people, head this way!" Sazh yelled as he motioned his arms towards Lightning and himself.

Hope was among those some few hundred people, and guided them.

"Alright follow us, and we will lead you to your tents. Anyone in need of medical help, just go to that young lady over there." Sazh explained as he pointed to Vanille, who was standing next to the aircraft as all of the medical supplies were being unloaded by Snow and the guys of Team NORA.

The ex-citizens of Cocoon followed what they were ordered. About a fourth of the people headed towards Vanille's direction, in need of medical attention. Hope jogged up to her, before the people began lining up.

"Need help?" Hope asked as he stared at the people coming their way.

"I'm going to need all the help I can get!" Vanille said, knowing what a pain this job was going to be.

"Alright, all the medicines have been unloaded." Snow said as he and his friends walked up to the two.

"Is there anything else that we can help with?" Maqui chirped.

"They might need help setting up more tents." Hope thought out loud.

"Alright then... guys let's go check that out." Gadot asked as he motioned his head toward the direction of the tents. Everyone nodded their head in agreement, and followed. Lebreau and Serah were handing out refreshments, and Sazh and Lightning are guiding more people in.

"So, have you found your dad yet?" Vanille asked, her voice cheery. The people began lining up.

"No, not yet... but he'll show up soon eventually." Hope said, disappointment recognizable in his voice.

"I bet he'll be glad to see you." Vanille smiled, trying to bring up his mood a bit.

"Yeah, I'll sure be glad to see him too." He said with a smile, as the first person in line came up to them.

* * *

><p>"Come on, let's move!" Lightning ordered as the lines for the tents became bigger and slower. This was all starting to give her a headache... a massive headache.<p>

"Need help?" The boy with messy blue hair named Yuj called out from a distance.

"Hell, we do." Lightning muttered. Snow came up to her.

"Do we have enough tents for all of these people?" Snow asked, staring wide-eyed at the huge crowd of people.

"I sure hope so, if not we're gonna have to start sharing tents..." Sazh said, as he handed a person a slip with their tent's location.

"You want me to take an inventory count of what hasn't been used yet?" Maqui asked.

"Yes, and you," Lightning motioned towards Yuj, "count all of the tents set up already."

"And Snow and Gadot can set up the tents while I go round up some more people... Light, you gonna stay here?" Sazh asked before he started walking off.

"Have to. Who else is going to give these people a place to sleep?" Lightning said coldly. Sazh put his hands up in defense, and just jogged over towards the aircraft.

"Sis! Relax, we're over and done with the L'Cie business... so what's got you all moody?" Snow said as he crossed his arms and gave a big smile. Lightning clenched her jaw, as he mentioned the word 'sis'. He's just making her headache worse, and worse...

"It's none of your business. Go help elsewhere..." Lightning mumbled, as she massaged at her temples.

"Okaaay, Sis!" Snow said in a child-like voice and jogged off with Gadot towards the boxes of packed tents.

She glared at the back of his head, as if he could see it or something. She exhaled

"Ugh..." Lightning grunted as her headache suddenly intensified. "Snow!" she called out.

Snow turned around quickly as he heard name being yelled out by Lightning. He thought he was either in serious trouble or there's something terribly wrong. He ran over to her cautiously, just in case she were to hit him again across the face.

"What's wrong?" Snow asked, clearly worried for his soon to be sister in law.

"Just take over here... I'll be back in a while..." Lightning said as she started walking away.

"Uh, okay. Be careful!" Snow's voice could be faintly heard as she disappeared into a loud crowd of people. She didn't care at the moment really, she just needed to get out of there.

_Why does the sun have to be so damn bright? _Lightning thought to herself, as she winced her eyes. The light had been inflicting pain on her eyesight, and she was beginning to see little white and black spots in her vision. That was definitely not good sign.

She walked and walked, until she came further away from the camp. She went up a steep, grassy hill, and sat under one of the few trees that stood on top. It kept the sun from entering her eyes, but the dots that clouded her vision were getting bigger and bigger, until it was just all black at the center. It felt as if the whole world was shout her name, all at once. _Lightning! Lightning! Lightning... _The voice began to fade slowly.

The last thing she could recall seeing was reddish orange...

* * *

><p>"Hope?" Vanille said, as she noticed a certain pink-haired woman trudging out of the camp's gates.<p>

"Yeah?" Hope asked as he just finished giving a newborn baby it's necessary shots and immunizations. He handed the baby back to his mother, who thanked him.

"Can you take hold of this place for a little while by yourself?" Vanille asked, worry written clearly across her features. Eyes darting back and fourth between him and something else...

"Um, sure. Is there something wrong?"

"No, it's just there's something I got to do." Vanille said with a poker-face. Hope recognized that it was a lie, but if she didn't need his help then it shouldn't be that big of a problem.

"O-Okay." Hope said, as Vanille started walking away quickly.

Something was wrong. She could feel it in her veins. The blood pumping hard and quick throughout her body, it was telling her so. The way Lightning's struggling to climb up on a mere hill right now... just isn't right.

By now, she was running. She felt such an urgency to get to Lightning, like it was a priority. She exited the camp's gates, and skidded to a stop. Her eyes spotted Lightning sitting under a tree, and instantly started sprinting. If she were to run any faster, she would have felt that her knees would have exploded.

"Lightning!" she yelled out as she halfway up the hill. Vanille fell on her knees, but crawled the rest of her way to her. "Lightning!" she called out to her again, but no response. She examined her face, and it was pale and covered in a thin layer of sweat. "Lightning... please be alright..." She nearly whispered as her eyes became wet. She shook her, and then shook her again vigorously when she wouldn't respond. She placed her head against the woman's chest, and listened for a heartbeat. It was there, but it was faint and soft.

"Vanille! What are you-" Hope ran up. His eyes widened at the scene before him. "What's wrong with Light?" He nearly yelled as he knelt down beside Vanille.

"I don't know, but please help me!" She pleaded. Vanille's tears were flowing freely down her face now. Hope stood up, and grabbed both of Lightning's arms. Vanille looked at him confusingly.

"Grab her legs." Hope commanded. She quickly did so, and Hope started leading them down the hill. "She needs medical attention... quick... " Hope said lowly.

They moved as quickly as they could, despite the awkward position they were carrying the older woman. Snow, Serah and team NORA were leaning against the gates, talking casually and laughing, until the two them showed up with the woman in their hands. Serah was the first to notice.

"Oh no..." Serah whispered.

"What is it?" Gadot asked.

"It's... it's Lightning!" Yuj exclaimed.

"I knew somethin' was up... " Snow whispered as he went over to them. "Guys, I'll take her." Snow said as he grabbed the limp woman from their arms.

"Thanks..." Hope breathed. Snow carefully slung Lightning over his shoulder. Serah held her sister's hand, her eyes beginning to water.

"What happened to her?" Serah nearly croaked.

"I'll explain later, but just follow me." Vanille said, as she began to run. Snow and Serah began to follow, but Maqui stopped Hope in his tracks.

"But Hope, there's someone here for you..." Maqui said as he stared at the others running off along with Vanille, Serah, and Snow.

"Who?" he asked, confused. Who could possibly want to meet him at a time like this.

"I think it's your dad..."

* * *

><p>Woo, so there's chapter three... hmm... I think it seems kind of rushed, but i don't know really. Why don't you tell me what you guys think?<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: ... I apologize for calling you guys sons-of-a-(bleep)s in the last chapter... So to make it up, I made this chapter longer. So enjoy! Also, I recommed listening to Pendulum's cover of The Catalyst by Linkin Park (if you're interested in electro and/or rock... or the acoustic version of All Around Me by Flyleaf. I wrote this chapter while listening to these songs... I love them both ^.^

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Four<span>

Bartholomew Eistheim, Hope's father, had been found by Sazh at the pathway between the Archylte Steppe and Yaschas Massif, the Vallis Media. He had been stuck in the mountainous pathway for weeks along with the Cavalry, a division of Guardian Corps who _was_ led by Cid Raines, who was protecting Bartholomew from the so called 'cursed' l'Cie. Only now they see that they are the heroes, and not the evil villains that everyone had claimed them to be.

But for Bartholomew, he had known all along. He had been hiding his branded son and his other companions, who were also branded. Hiding them from the PSICOM. He was willing to be Purged and risk his position in the Sanctum to save them, but Lightning and the others had developed a plan to make it seem that he was being held against his will to hide them. That may be the only reason why he is still alive today.

Back at camp, Sazh landed his air ship to the _naturally_ constructed air base. Turning all systems off, he jumped out of the pilot's seat and onto the ground below. He landed clumsily, and rubbed at his aging, aching back.

"Damn, I better not do _that_ again..." He mumbled to himself. He walked over to the middle of the air ship, and at the main exit, he met up with the some two hundred people he picked up from Vallis Media. Never again will he pick up that many people; their weight affected the flight of the air ship, which was not good at all. Out of them all, Bartholomew ran up to Sazh.

"Do you know where my son is?" Bartholomew asked breathlessly.

"I don't know... Would you like for us to search for him?" Sazh asked, not knowing exactly _who_ is son is. He wasn't with the others when they were hiding from the l'Cie, but with Vanille.

"Yes, Yes please..."

"Alright, hold on a sec..." He faced towards the other one-hundred ninety nine people. "You guys must register over in that direction!" He yelled as he pointed into a direction. They all started slowly walking towards the registrations.

"This way." Sazh said to Bartholomew as he started walking. Bartholomew followed, and they soon came to a booth. They walked in, and Sazh came up to a binder filled with papers of people's information on a table.

"Okay, what's their last name?" Sazh asked.

"Eistheim." Bartholomew said as he stared at the binder.

_That sounds familiar..._ Sazh thought to himself.

"And their first name?"

"Hope."

Sazh dropped the binder to the floor. This man... was Hope's _father_? He turned to him.

"You mean a kid with silver hair, and turquoise eyes? He's like fourteen or fifteen years old?"

"Yes! Yes, that's my son. Do you know him?" Bartholomew exclaimed.

"Yes... I was one of his companions... We were both l'Cie." A smile formed on Bartholomew's face. After a minute of thinking, he quickly took out his radio telecommunication device. "Team NORA, this is Sazh." He spoke into it.

"_Yeah, what's up?"_ Gadot answered.

"If you see Hope, tell him his dad is here."

_"Aye aye, sir!"_ Maqui shouted in the background.

_"Knock it off, Maqui! You're not a freakin' pirate!"_ Yuj could be clearly heard yelling at him.

_"I wasn't trying to be! Isn't that what people say when they answer their walkie-talkie thingys?"_

_"NO!" _

_"Yeah Sazh, we'll make sure to tell him... Hey! You two stop messing around, or I'll knock y'all back to Cocoon!"_ Gadot said before he got disconnected. Sazh sighed heavily, _Young-in's these days..._

"Do you know where he is? Is he okay?" He interrupted Sazh's trail of thought.

"Hold on a second..." Sazh took out another device, and raised it towards his mouth. "Find Hope Eistheim." He spoke into the device. A hologram of a map popped up, and a red dot was flashing on the map.

"_0.4 miles from your location. Start traveling north west._" A robotic, female voice had said. Sazh looked towards Bartholomew.

"Let's go." Sazh said as he and Bartholomew started running.

* * *

><p>"Hurry up! She needs an IV bag!" One of the nurses called out. Lightning lay unconscious on the ground on a blanket. Serah, Snow, Vanille, and the others stood a few feet away, watching as nurses try to put liquid in the woman before she suffers from even further hydration. They quickly stuck her in the arm, and drew out blood into a vile first before hooking her to the IV. They'll need to examine her blood, to determine exactly what's wrong with her.<p>

"Here, take this to the doctor quick." A male nurse said as he handed the tube to another nurse. He then came up to Serah.

"We will have to test her blood, to see exactly what's wrong with her..." She walked over and got a clipboard and a pen from a table from the opposite side of the tent. "You are her only family... right?" She asked Serah. She just nodded weakly to confirm the woman. She handed her the clipboard. "You'll need to sign some papers... just in case something goes wrong and... well you get it..." She concluded quickly as she saw Serah's face change into sadness. Hope and Maqui burst the room, and jogged over to Vanille.

"Is Light okay?" Maqui asked frantically and out of breath.

"I... We don''t know yet." Vanille said as she stared at the pink-haired woman on the ground.

Sazh and Bartholomew bust through the room too, much like Hope and Maqui had just a few moments ago. Sazh ran up to Hope, breathing hard from running.

"Boy, we were looking all over for you. First, you were outside the camp, and then you came back in, and now you're in here? What were you- oh..." Sazh finally caught sight of the unconscious Lightning laying on the floor. "That explains so much... but never mind that! Your dad's here!" Sazh said as he turned around and gestured at Bartholomew.

"Hope." Bartholomew, eyes glistening, ran up to his son. He hugged him with such strength, it clearly showed how much he cared for the boy. He held Hope's head to his shoulder.

"So beautiful..." Sazh whimpered before wiping his eyes with a handkerchief, and then blowing his nose into it rather very loudly.

"My son... I'm so proud of you... all of you." He turned to everyone else. "You all saved everyone on Cocoon."

"Dad..." Hope was blushing at his father's words, clearly embarrassed and happy at the same time.

"But we couldn't save Cocoon itself..." Lightning whispered suddenly. Everyone turned to her, shocked. Serah and Vanille ran to her side.

"Light, are you okay?" Serah asked as she grabbed her sister's hand. She held onto it as tight as possible.

"Serah, I'm... I'm fine..." She said between shaky breaths as she sat up.

"Look at you, you are _not_ fine!" She didn't mean to yell at her, but to have her say she's okay is not right.

"Yes, I am Serah..." She tried to stand up, but her skull twisted in a vicious pain. She sat back down, her eyes narrowed. Her hands then flew up to the sides of her head, and clenched at her hair.

"Lightning?" Vanille looked at her questioningly.

"Ngh!" She grunted in pain. She was staring at the floor with such intensity, as if concentrating on something other than this pain would channel it elsewhere. It got worse.

"What's wrong with her?" Bartholomew asked, but no one had seemed to acknowledge him. He walked closer, to observe the young woman.

She yelled this time, Bartholomew backed up a little. He and Snow ran out to get the doctors. She was sweating slightly, and her the veins in her neck and forehead were protruding slightly.

"...Dammit!" She yelled.

"Lightning! What's wrong?" Vanille asked her. Lightning started panting again, and her vision began to blur like last time... before she fell unconscious.

"M-My head..." she stammered out.

"Someone hurry with the nurses!" Serah yelled out.

"I'll go get them!" Sazh too went to search for any help. All that remained in the room was Lightning, Serah, Vanille, and Hope. The three of them all surrounded her.

"Hope, let's use cura!" Vanille suggested quickly as she too attempted at using cure. "Huh?" Vanille stared down at her hands.

"What's wrong?" Hope asked as he was about to use his healing powers.

"It's not working..." Vanille tried again, but there was no use.

"What?" Serah exclaimed.

"Here, let me try..." He let his hands hover over Lightning's body, and put all of his power into it. Yet, nothing would come out. "No, this can't be right! What's going on here?"

"I don't know..." Vanille whispered, bewildered at the situation before her. She stood up quickly, and started to search around the room in a frantic frenzy.

"Vanille, what are you doing?" Serah said as she stared at the girl.

"I'm trying to find something to help Lightning!"

"But there's no medicine in here!" Hope yelled at her.

"There just might be! We would never know if we don't look!" Vanille said as she searched through cabinets and drawers all over the room.

"The medicine's is all in the main doctor's tent!" He snapped at her. Even Serah was slightly taken aback at Hope's tone. Vanille whipped around.

"Then why don't you go get it!" Vanille said angrily.

"I'm not allowed in there, because I'm so obviously not a doctor!"

Their consistent arguing was making Lightning feel ten times worse. She wanted to say something to them... _scream_ at them to just shut up. But she just couldn't. She hadn't enough willpower to handle the pain in her head _and_ the pain that they were causing in her ears.

"Stop..." she whispered. No one had heard her. Serah was trying to stop Hope and Vanille's argument, but she just couldn't get through to them.

"Stop it... please..." she begged almost silently. Yet their voices was all she heard. She couldn't even hear herself think anymore. She finally just snapped.

"S-Stop! Both of you a-are being ridiculous! Stop with this nonsense and actually work together! W-What happened with being comrades? Did that die along w-with Cocoon too!" She yelled out, stuttering sometimes from the pain.

Shame were painted on their faces, but Serah just stared at Lightning in shock. There was something glowing... Yes, in the middle of her chest... A bright light began to shine through the fabric of her brown turtleneck.

"I-I'm supposed to protect you two? So, when I'm n-not around, _this_ is how you two will act? If you can't h-help each other, then why should I help you-!" Then, her breaking point. "Ah!" a blood curdling scream tore from her throat.

It felt like she was hit in the head with a hammer. Her body suddenly began to glow, growing brighter on her chest then spreading throughout her body. She began to shimmer from her insides with light, and she began to scream even more.

A white light erupted in the room, and took everyone's sight away. It erupted from underneath Lightning, like how their eidolons were summoned. Only this had a different pattern than Lightning's usual one. This was more intracit, and was white and gold. The whole room shook with such power, it felt as if they were stuck in the midst of a high altitude earthquake. Now it felt as if the were in an elevator traveling at fifty miles per hour. Everyone screamed at the top of their lungs as the spinning and shaking came to it's most violent. They were all lifted into the air, and came crashing down... _hard_.

* * *

><p>Well... I just don't know how the hell I have brought it to this point o_o" I do have an idea though... to me, it seems kind of stupid, but we'll see... Reviews arewill be greatly appreciated :)


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the late update! I was celebrating my birthday for a whole week, and then came Halloween! Argh! (lol, i was a pirate ^.^) Without any further delay, here is the fifth chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Five<span>

Darkness. Nothing but the darkness. Nothing in sight, nothing could be heard, not even the slightest hint of a smell lingered in the air. _Nothing._ It was just the blackness that surrounded the four who had fallen into this empty space. Floating in this non-gravitational air, many questions begin to arise in everyone's thoughts.

Were they not in the same time as their present? Were they in a completely different dimension? Were they dead? These questions lingered in their minds. But, they couldn't be answered, because there nothing or no one there to be asked of.

Finally, Serah was the first to speak.

"Guys... Are you there?" Serah asked lowly, scared because she might be trapped in this pitch black confinement alone.

"Yeah, I'm here." Hope called out.

"I'm here! Lightning? Are you there?" Vanille yelled.

"Y-Yes..." Lightning coughed out.

Everyone breathed out in relief. Everyone was together and safe, that was all that mattered.

"Where are we?" Lightning questioned, even though she knew she wouldn't get an answer.

"I... I don't know." Vanille whispered. Somehow, this place had a familiar vibe to it. As if she were here before.

"Look!" Hope yelled as a small bright light shinned from, for what seemed like, miles away.

Their bodies became illuminated, and they could now see each other. Yet another light was forming, this light coming from Lightning's chest.

"Lightning, your chest!" Serah exclaimed. The light shone through her brown turtle-neck. It was emitting gold and white colors.

"Oi Sunshine, I thought we made a promise?" A very familiar voice echoed out. _Fang_.

"F-Fang!" Vanille and Lightning said simultaneously as Fang appeared before them. They all felt their feet touch surface. They were all standing on ground now, but everything still remained pitch black.

"Why are you so surprised? Is there something on my face?" Fang chuckled. None of them replied to her sarcastic remark. They were all too shocked to see her standing in front of them.

"You can't be real..." Vanille whispered, the wetness in the corners of her eyes increasing.

"We'll, let's say I am here, but I'm not here at the same time..." Everyone looked at her questioningly. "What you see is an image I created, so that you can tell that it is me... Wow, everyone's so slow today..."

"G-Get to the point Fang." Lightning said as she clenched at her chest. It too was beginning to hurt.

"Ouch, Farron. Aren't you glad to see me?"

"..." Lightning remained silent. Fang grinned evilly.

"Yeah, I know you do," Fang said slyly. Before Lightning could make a comeback, Fang decided to explain everything, "...You almost broke our promise, Sunshine."

"What?" Serah asked, not clearly knowing what exactly was going on.

"Your sister 'ere made a promise that she'd look after Vanille for me. As I can recall from about ten minutes ago, Light had said, and in quote, 'I'm supposed to protect you two? So, when I'm not around, _this_ is how you two will act? If you can't help each other, then why should I help you.' And, that's when I stepped in." Fang explained, arms crossed and pacing back and forth.

"So, _you're _the reason for this damn migraine? And now for this pain in my chest too?" Lightning asked, fury apparent in her eyes.

"Well for your headache, I kinda foresaw this was goin' ta happen, so I put that on you, but it actually made everything ten times worse, and for your chest pain-"

"Fang, you asshole! Why couldn't you have just sent us here in the first place!" Lightning was beyond furious.

"Oh, so now you're trying to make me look like the bad guy..." Fang grumbled.

"I thought I was dying, Fang!" Lightning yelled out. Everyone winced at her words.

"Well payback's a bitch, isn't it?" Fang snapped back.

"Yeah, and so are you-"

"Stop! Stop the fighting!" Vanille called out. "Lately, things have just been getting worse and worse after Cocoon had been crystallized. I thought that it was going to get better! We need to help and support each other, like we had during our journey... Because if we don't... we're all just going to fall apart..." Vanille's voice grew weaker and weaker as she spoke. By the end, tears were beginning to stream down her face.

Everyone looked at her in shame, and sympathy. She had been the one the whole time who had been suffering the most.

"I just can't believe you two..." Vanille whimpered.

"Sorry Vanille... but the reason I'm here is to protect you. I... _We_ never meant to make you upset. Please stop crying..." Fang said softly, wanting badly to be there _physically_ so she could just hug the girl and make her feel better.

Vanille shook her head, "Don't apologize..." she had meant to sound strong, but her voice had cracked.

Fang felt a little pain in her heart. Sure, she knew Vanille was angry, but she had surely known that she was going to forgive her. She was wrong.

"Alright then," Fang mumbled. She turned to Lightning, "Back to where we were before: About your chest pain... they will come if Vanille is in any danger. Physical or emotional. If she's in any type of danger, then that new tattoo of yours will _really_ let you know..."

"Tattoo?" Lightning asked through clenched teeth.

She pulled down her turtle neck collar, and revealed intricate lettering in black ink. Surely, it was if the Oerban language.

"What does it say?" Hope asked, blushing a bit because he could see the top of Lightning's lacy black bra.

"Guardian." Vanille said with shock clearly written across her face. Everyone had stared at it, until Lightning felt uncomfortable and lifted back up her turtle neck.

"Well, it's time I head back now... and Farron?" Fang called out. Lightning looked towards her gaze. "Actually _be_ her guardian... that's what the tatt's for, y'know?"

"I see that, Fang..." She was clearly not in the mood. Fang chuckled as her body began to fade.

"See you... well... whenever." Fang said, then looked at Vanille and gave her a reassuring smile.

As soon as Fang had fully dispersed, they were all thrown back into their own world the same way they came in... and again came the screams.

"Holy-!" Lightning felt like she had to puke.

"Fang, is this _really_ necessary!" Serah yelled out at the woman, clearly pissed.

"I'm gonna diiiiiiiiieeeeeee!" Hope screamed as he freaked out. Vanille just screamed at the top of her lungs, as if she were on a roller coaster.

They all soon crash landed back into the tent that they were in moments ago through a portal. Everyone was breathless and sprawled out on the floor. Papers and plastics flew out of the cabinets and on to the floor with them when they returned. The sides of the tent were ripped, and people from the outside gawked to see what the hell had just happened. Let's just say that it looked like a tornado had come through.

The others ran in quickly, and they were all dumbstruck by what they saw.

"Just what the heck happened in here?" Snow was the first to speak.

"Long story actually..." Vanille responded as she stood up and stretched. They were _definitely_ going to feel the pain tomorrow...

* * *

><p>After the four of them had explained everything, it had come to the end of the day. Everyone headed to dinner, which consisted of mainly the vegetables from the vegetable patch just outside the camp, and the meat from animals that were fended off from the town by team NORA. In the center of the camp was where the eating area was, where they would eat on wooden tables and sit in the also wooden chairs.<p>

"Hey, Claire." Serah whispered into her sister's ear as everyone was eating.

"What is it Serah?" Lightning asked after she had swallowed her food.

"There isn't enough tents for everyone, and since I'm going to be sleeping with Snow, could you-"

"I don't know Serah..." She already knew what she was going to ask. They had made an announcement earlier that there wasn't enough tents for everyone to have their own, so they had to be shared by two or more people. She wasn't sure about sleeping with Vanille, though.

"Come on, Claire. You're her guardian now anyways, so you need to be with her like all the time."

"I do need some space to myself, don't I?" Lightning said before she shoved a fork full of food into her mouth.

"Aren't you tired of that?" Serah said with slight anger.

"Tired of what?" Lightning was completely clueless.

"You are always alone with no one to help you, or you to give help. Doesn't it sometimes bother you?" Serah asked, hoping that Lightning would have felt that way.

"I-"

"Hey guys!" Vanille said cheerily as she sat down next to the two sisters.

"Hi Vanille!" Serah responded back, equally as happy-sounding as she was.

Lightning mumbled a small hello.

"So Vanille, is it alright if you sleep with Lightning tonight? There's not enough tents as you've heard earlier, and-"

"I'm perfectly fine by myself." Lightning cut in. Vanille couldn't help but feel a little sad.

"But, don't we have to share tents?" Vanille asked, hoping that that was the occasion.

"Yes! Exactly! See Lightning, you _have_ to share your tent. Your her guardian too now, so you have to keep watch over her." Serah was really pushing it.

Vanille was blushing. She just somehow felt... special. She had a guardian to watch over her. A real one. Not like those religions where the gods were the guardians, but an actual person. A human being. Something real that can never falter and fade away. _Real. _

Somehow, after the fall of Cocoon, she had felt closer to the woman. She admired her deeply for her strength, beauty, and charm. She had always admired her, but not so much as to this extent.

_I... I think I _like_ her..._

Vanille felt fear grow deep within her chest.

_Why? Why did I have a crush on this woman? It doesn't make any sense! Her of all people? Now my guardian? I have a freakin' crush on my guardian! What is that! This is crazy talk!_

Vanille's thoughts were going wild, but deep down, she knew she needed something like this. To keep her distracted from all of the sadness and depression she had been facing lately. To keep her mind set on something. To give her a chance at something new. Different. Definitely different. Something totally new and never experienced before.

She felt her mouth pull at it's corners, and break out into a huge smile. She had a goal now.

"Light, I'm sure it'll be okay." Vanille reassured. She indeed wanted this woman to sleep by her side.

"Fine. Whatever." Lightning ended it, and finished her food with one last bite and left.

Vanille screamed with joy inside, but it faltered through and was apparent on her facial features. She was smiling wide and a light blush was faintly seen on her cheeks. She truly seemed happy. Serah had noticed instantly, and a smile came to her as well.

"Well, it looks like someone has a crush on my sister..." Serah said then quickly sipped at her water.

Vanille nearly choked on her food. How could she have been found out so quickly! She had just realized her crush on Lightning moments ago, and now someone already knows? Just... wow...

"What are you talking about?" Vanille quickly recovered after successfully swallowing her food without choking.

"What are _you _talking about? Don't lie, Vanille. I can see how happy she made you just now! Oh my gosh, you two would be so cute together!" Serah was getting giddy from excitement.

"Shh!" Vanille put her hand over the younger Farron's mouth. "No one can know about this!" she whispered into her ear. "Understood?"

"My lips are sealed." Serah gave a trusting smile.

* * *

><p>She had been lying there, waiting for what seemed like hours for the woman to come into the tent. <em>Their<em> tent. Vanille giggled to herself.

"I feel like a school girl again..." she whispered to herself.

"A what?" Lightning asked softly.

Vanille jumped so high, her body lifted off the ground.

"Light! Don't scare me like that!" She slapped at the older woman's arm playfully.

Lightning just raised an eye brow. She shook her head then headed to the opposite side of the tent. Vanille blushed.

"Where do you think you're going?" Vanille asked, arms folded across her chest in a serious manner.

"Uh, to sleep?" Lightning was questioning the girl's behavior.

"Not way over there you aren't!"

"I can handle myself..." Lightning waved her off as she lied down.

"You? What about me! What if a big Adamantoise came in here and wanted to eat me?"

"Trust me, we would have heard it from miles away before it got here..."

"Hmph... You're so... ugh!" Vanille threw her face into her pillow, obviously frustrated.

"Night, Vanille." Lightning said with a smirk on her face. Vanille's face was too occupied with her pillow to notice.

"Shut up..." She mumbled against the pillow. Lightning chuckled silently.

* * *

><p>She felt movement in the sheets, but had decided to ignore it. Soon she felt warm across her waist and her right side. It felt good in contrast to the bitter cold they were having tonight. She hadn't wanted to move, because it felt so warm. But, her instincts told her it could be an enemy. Carefully, she had reached over her left side for her gunblade and a nearby flashlight. In a flash, she whipped out the gunblade to go into it's sword mode, and turned on the flashlight on the disturbance.<p>

She merely sighed at the sight.

It was Vanille.

She was curled up against her, and her arm wrapped around her waist. She was sleeping contently with a soft expression on her face. She was snoring lightly through her nose, but it was barely audible. Lightning blushed, and felt herself smile at the girl.

_This isn't so bad, actually..._ Lightning thought, as she lied back down. _... Just as long as no one ever finds out._

* * *

><p>Well, I hoped you enjoyed it. Eh, it was semi-fluffy at the end... but what can I say? I'm a fluffy guy. Haha, this was one of my longer chapters, and finally! No cliffhanger! :D Lol, leave a review and tell me what you thought.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! Sorry I'm updating so slow, but my computer is kinda whacked right now. It crashed, and I lost all my info. I'll be using my friend's for now, but I should be getting one soon. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Six<span>

Over the past six months, the town of New Bodhum has become greater. It seems more like a city now that skyscrapers and large building are beginning to tower over its grounds. Many houses and apartments have been built, and almost everyone has a home to call their own. Many jobs are available now, and the Guardian Corps has reformed. As soon as Lightning came back, she was offered the position of Commander. She took it with pleasure and pride.

A lot more new recruits are joining in now more than ever, including Hope and Vanille. They had joined the Junior Division. Once they turn twenty though, they must either quit or join the regular Guardian Corps military. Vanille is close to that age; she is nineteen years and eight months old. For Hope though, he still has a little to go for being fourteen years and ten months old. They both will work in the New Bodhum Security Regiment, or NBSC. Both of them have Mentors that are listed in the regular Guardian Corps military. Hope's Mentor is Amodar. Since Lightning had been practically his Mentor during their journey to save Cocoon, Hope had considered it fair that Lightning should be Vanille's Mentor. Yes, she is Vanille's Mentor now as well…

With everything that had happened before with Fang, Lightning has been watching over Vanille more than she ever has. From waking to lights out, she has been watching her… _literally_. Lightning, Serah, Snow, and Vanille all share a two bedroom, two bathroom house. Since Serah and Snow are sharing one room, Vanille and Lightning have to share the other. At first, Lightning had wanted to sleep out in the living room, but after about twenty minutes of begging from Vanille, the older woman had given in. Vanille was overjoyed of course, since she had made the woman sleep in the same room as her. How happy Vanille was… She had her Guardian, her Mentor, and her crush all in the same room… all the same person…

_Wow, she really means many things to me... _Vanille thought as she was trudging home from work; it had been a long, tiring day today. Alongside her was Lightning herself. Vanille let out a long sigh.

"Just a couple more blocks, and we'll be there..." Lightning reassured the younger girl, sensing her tiredness.

"Yeah, and I'm gonna take a nap as soon as we get home!" Vanille laughed lightly.

"You can't." Lightning declared.

"W-What? What do you mean, 'I can't'?" Vanille looked up at the older woman.

"You'll mess up you're sleeping schedule." She said simply. Vanille giggled at this. "What?" Lightning asked coldly.

"Light, you're telling _me_ about sleeping schedules? What about you? You tend to sleep whenever you want. You're such a hypo..."

Lightning was startled at this. "Did you just call me a hippo?" She was more confused than angry.

Vanille busted into a laughing fit, almost falling over in the process. "Haha, no Light! I meant hypo as in hypo_crite_. Y'know, _hypocrite_?"

Lightning's face turned as red as a tomato... and Vanille had saw.

"Aww... I'm sorry! I shouldn't have-"

"Too late. You're sleeping on the couch tonight." Lightning smirked. This will get her.

"What!" Vanille exclaimed. "You can't kick me out of _our_ room!"

"You've done it to me before..." Lightning said as she eyed the younger girl.

Vanille opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She closed it in defeat, and looked the other way with a pouting face. Lightning merely chuckled.

"You're so easy Vanille..." Lightning had said, clueless that it had sounded rather crude.

"Excuse me?" Vanille looked at her angrily, but a blush was very apparent on her cheeks.

"I said... Oh..." Lightning said, having realized what Vanille had interpreted of it. "Well, you are easy _that_ way too, I guess..." Lightning snickered.

She had received a great, big smack on her arm from a very furious Vanille.

"Ow!" Lightning yelped. "I was only joking..." She murmured as she rubbed at her red, stinging arm. Who know Vanille could use her fists... er... hands...?

"You deserved it, you meanie." Vanille stuck out her tongue as well, just mocking the older woman further.

"That's it. I'm done playing games." Lightning said coldly. She had never looked more serious in her life.

Vanille had never looked so scared in her life. This woman looked like she was about to kill her. But, as she seen the sides of the older woman's mouth curve, she had figured that she was bluffing.

"You're so full of it!" Vanille said as she pushed the woman away weakly. Lightning had burst into laughter.

Vanille just stared upon the woman. She had never heard the woman laugh so loud and freely before. She seemed so much happier from when they first met. It's such a contrast between the comparison. She had to admit, Lightning was a total bitch at first, but once they've realized how deep in trouble and mayhem they were in, she had taken responsibility for the people around her. She behaved as if she were still in the military, and that they were her comrades... But, that's the thing... They _were_ her comrades, as she was to them, They depended on each other to fight and to survive. That is what comrades do.

From that point on was when Vanille had started to admire the pink-haired woman. She was indeed a great leader, a terrific one. She had lead them out of all of the destruction... all except for one-

"Vanille!" Lightning yelled. She had been brought out of her trance, and her eyes darted up. A hover-car was heading in her direction fast, with only about ten meters away before it would hit her, and only a couple of seconds to move.

She had frozen in place. There was no way she could move.

By instinct, she closed her eyes as tight as she could, and put her arms in front of her upper body. She heard and felt the gush of wind, and the sound of the car's engine trying to slow down. She felt her body being thrown across the ground, and the sound of glass breaking, shattering. Pieces of it were hitting the asphalt road. Yet, she had felt no pain. _Why?_

Her eyes snapped open and searched around frantically. She had fallen to the side of the road. She could hear the horn of the car going off, but never ceasing or stopping.

"H-How...?" Vanille asked herself as she examined herself. There were small cuts on her hands, fore-arms, and knees. Her head lifted up quickly. From her view, she could see that the car had stopped. It's windshield window was completely shattered, and the roof and hood had been dent in.

She stood up, and her whole body was trembling from the fall. She staggered to the car, looking inside to see the driver. It seems that he had fallen unconscious. His head pressed up against the driver-wheel, which was causing the constant sound of the horn.

Vanille slowly walked around, and opened the door to the car. She reached in, and with both hands, pulled his head gently from the wheel. She laid him against the seat. He had a large cut on his forehead, and blood was running down his face and onto his shirt. Lights in the car were flashing emergency signals, and the man started to breathe sharply. Despite the fact that he almost had killed her, she had to see that he was okay.

"Uh... mister? Are you okay?" She asked awkwardly but in a concerned voice.

"I'm... fine." He breathed out. Vanille sighed in relief. "It should be her... you should be concerned about her..." He said as he weakly pointed his thumb to the rear end of the car.

Vanille's eyes grew wide.

"Lightning!" She walked as fast as she could to her, falling in the process.

She didn't care. She had to get to her.

Her eyes met sight with the color of pink... and red. She ran over to the woman, and fell to her already scraped knees. She was covered... covered in blood and glass and bruises. Her back was to her, and she could only imagine what her face looked like. Vanille felt her eyes sting at the sight before her.

"Lightning..." She said as she reached for her shoulder.

"Ugh... I'm fine, Vanille." Lightning responded with a raspy voice. She sat up and turned around. She had a large cut across her left cheek right under her eye. She had small cuts on her chin and forehead, and the right side of her face was red from skidding across the road. She looked terrible, to say the least. Her hand was clenching at her chest, at her tattoo.

Without another thought, Vanille lunged for Lightning. She hugged her as tight as she possibly could. Tears have been streaming down her face by now, and her whole body was shaking. Lightning clenched her teeth as Vanille squeezed her injuries. She had not wanted to say anything though, because she didn't want to make the girl feel worse. The red-head mumbled something into her shoulder, but it was not comprehendable.

"What was that...?" Lightning asked just above a whisper.

"Idiot..."

_What?_

"You're such an idiot..."

_Oh..._

"Vanille..." Lightning sighed. "I shouldn't have to explain myself." She said as she stared at the onlookers of the accident. They all had their cell phones out, probably calling the Guardian Corps. Some were over at the car now, trying to help the man get out. Lightning gritted her teeth in anger. She gently pushed Vanille off of her, and stood up slowly.

"L-Light?" Vanille stared at her. Lightning began to walk. "Where are you going?"

It was obvious where she was going, but she was hoping by asking that, that she would stop and turn back around.

Lightning only walked faster.

"These people are about to witness a murder before them..." Lightning mumbled to herself as she was almost to the car.

People stepped back from the man, seeing as she would probably knock them out if they stood in her way. She reached in, grabbed him by his shirt collar, and forcefully pulled him out of the car and threw him onto the ground below. He grunted painfully as he collided with the hard road and rolled into the grass. Something sparkled in the corner of her eye. She turned and saw that there was a bottle of liquor in the car, half empty in the passenger seat. This only added momentum to her burning rage.

"Lightning, stop this!" Vanille ran up to her.

"No." She said as she glared at the man on his hands and knees.

_So pitiful..._

"Please, Light! Don't hurt him!" Vanille cried.

"This bastard is drunk, Vanille!" Lightning yelled at her. The man on the floor coughed up a mixture of blood and saliva. Vanille ran up to her, and wrapped her arms around her.

"No, you can't!" Vanille attempted to pull her away from the man.

"Vanille, let go!" Lightning struggled against her grip. It was starting to hurt her again.

"Please!"

"Ngh!" Lightning gasped as a sharp pain tore across her chest.

It had to be because of the tattoo... Vanille must be feeling some sort of pain... emotional? For the drunken man that could have killed her? _How ridiculous... _Lightning thought.

"Fine, I'll fucking stop." She gave up completely.

There was nothing she could do. Either kill the man, and be killed herself after, or let the man live so she could too. _Thanks so much, Fang. _Vanille released her slowly, not trusting her completely. Lightning just shrugged off her hands, and walked to the other side of the street and sat on the curb. She was completely oblivious to all of the stares she was receiving, not that she actually cared about their opinions anyway.

As if on cue, the Guardian Corps and a couple of their emergency teams arrived in flying aircrafts. There was about four of them. They all looked like military helicopters, just without the rotator on top. They were all colored black, and they all had the Guardian Corps emblem on both sides. The emblem was the letters _G_ and _C _capitalized and in gold lettering. There was ten silver stars circling the abbreviation. Below the emblem showcased the soldier's name and rank. Only the higher ranking soldiers could have access to these, though.

One of aircrafts happened to be Amodar, and he had recognized Lightning on the ground immediately. He jumped out of his small aircraft, and jogged over to Lightning.

"Farron, is that you?"

"Yes, sir-" She rose off the curb quickly.

"Hey, remember you don't call me that anymore now..." He laughed lightly at Lightning's formality, despite the situation. Lightning sighed lightly and folded her arms.

"Anyway," he changed the subject. "What do we got here?" He asked, glancing at the man on the ground, and then to the damaged vehicle.

"A drunk driver that almost hit Vanille." She said with clenched teeth.

"Yeah, looks like he hit _you_ instead." He said, a small smile gracing his lips.

"That's not important." Lightning looked over to Vanille. "I have a promise to keep... Amodar." Calling him by his name sounded so... inappropriate.

"Well, I'm glad we're done with calling each others' names so formally, but other than that, I know very well of your promise to protect that girl..." He said as he stepped closer to Lightning.

He looked her straight in her eyes, and almost whispered, "And from what I see here, you've done a hell of a job, Farron." He finished with a smile, and a powerful pat on her shoulder.

"Now, let's get you cleaned up." Amodar motioned his head towards his small aircraft. "Someone help that man over there." He commanded to the other soldiers as he began walking.

They walked over, and he rounded up a pair of medics that could help Lightning and the man with their injuries. Vanille too, came over. Amodar smiled at the young girl.

"Glad to see you're not hurt too badly, Cadet Dia." All Juniors were considered cadets.

"I'm kind of glad too myself, Lieutenant." Vanille smiled back at her leader.

"Who wouldn't be? Well, maybe except for Farron over here..." He joked, and received a laugh from everyone around, even a small chuckle from Lightning herself.

"At least I don't cry over a simple paper cut..." Lightning cut one in. The other day, Amodar had been doing some paper work, and he had gotten a paper cut. He literally ran around his office crying, and yelling, 'Ow! Ow! Ow!'.

"Hey, that one really hurt! And I wasn't crying!" Amodar obviously lied. The whole Guardian Corps found out about it about five minutes after it happened. "Paper cuts are like a punch to the face if you ask me..."

"Whatever you say." Vanilled drawled on like a little girl. Everyone laughed again. Amodar only looked down at his feet in embarrassment.

Vanille had made eye contact with Lightning, and she couldn't look away... She loved the way that they just instantly softened when she met her gaze. How she was nice to her, and only her. How she exposed her _true_ self to her. How she can be so openly honest with her, and how Vanille could be with her. She just loved _her_ in general... She loved the person she was, her personality. She wasn't quite sure if she actually loved the woman, but she indeed had deep feelings for her. There was something in her eyes... like as if she were begging her to tell her something. And indeed she was going to. _Tonight, for sure, _Vanille thought_ , I'll tell her how I feel. _Her determination was radiating like the sun. She gave Lightning a huge smile. _If only she knew what was going to happen..._

* * *

><p>Ahh... hope you liked it... I actually had been in a car accident a few days ago, so it actually inspired me to re-write the whole chapter... And yes... the accident was my fault (I accidentally ran a red light, I WASN'T DRUNK LIKE THE GUY WAS!) vv Yeah, I'm completely embarrassed about it. No one was hurt though, that's all that matters. Hope you enjoyed it!


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys, sorry I hadn't updated in a while. But, you were right Minimum Tea... the situation had gotten worse. It seems the charger for my netbook was chewed on by some sort of animal creature... (stares at Sunny, my four-month old kitten) Haha, anyway I didn't really want to use my friend's computer that much so I just sort of quit for a while. For now, I'm using a library computer. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays, and hope you will have a great new year!

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Seven<span>

It was after two in the morning, and Serah was worried sick. She was pacing around, and surprisingly, there wasn't holes in the ground from where her tracks were placed. Snow sat on the couch. He too was getting worried. Sure, they came home late sometimes, but never this late.

"Maybe they had an extra assignment handed to them?" Snow was thinking for the past hour of every possible reason for them being late.

"No, no... They would have called us at least..." Serah said, her brows furrowed together. Snow sighed, and rested his chin in his hand. He closed his eyes, and began thinking about the two.

'_I just hope they are alright. We can't afford to lose anyone else... not like we almost had_-'

"Have we tried calling Hope or Sazh yet?" Serah burst through his thoughts. Snow raised his head.

"No. You want me to give it a try?" Snow asked, even though he knew what the answer was going to be.

"Yes, please... Maybe they know what's going on." Serah finally sat down on the arm of the couch. Snow pulled out his cell phone, and began dialing Sazh's number. With his other hand, he began rubbing small circles on Serah's back. "It's going to be alright." He whispered to her as the phone began ringing. "I'm sure they're fine-"

As if on cue, keys were being entered into the front door's handle. Snow snapped his phone shut, knowing whom exactly was at he door. Serah jumped up from her spot, and ran over to the door. She flung it open, surprising the two girls standing behind the door. Serah's eyes widened at the sight. Snow walked up beside her, and had the same reaction as his fiance.

There was cuts and bruises all over their bodies, Vanille's not as bad as Lightning's.

"What happened!" Serah asked as she pressed her fingers to the band aid on Lightning's cheek. Lightning flinched a bit, the stinging sensation was still there.

"Ah..." Vanille tapped her chin.

'_How do I word this..._' Vanille thought.

"... There was a drunk driver... and-"

"What! Did he hit you guys?" Snow cut in.

"Well, yes, but not me though..." Snow and Serah turned to Lightning.

"Sis, are you alright?" Snow asked as he examined her. Lightning clenched her jaw as he mentioned the word 'sis'.

"I'm fine, Snow. Thanks for asking." Lightning said bitterly as she pushed past them. Lightning stalked up the stairs, and slammed her bedroom door. Serah turned to Vanille, her eyes knitted in confusion.

"Is she really okay?" Serah asked in a low voice. Vanille sighed.

"She will be..." Vanille gave a reassuring smile.

'_Hopefully..._' Vanille thought.

* * *

><p>'<em>I just need some sleep...' <em>Lightning thought as she tossed herself onto her bed.

She had on a simple, baggy, blue colored t-shirt that covered half of her thighs. She didn't even bother wearing bottoms because the shirt was so long. She tossed and turned for nearly an hour, sleep not wanting to come to her. She grumbled angrily as she threw the sheets off of her. She sat on the side of the bed, and held her head in her hands. "What's wrong with me?" She whispered as she grasped at her hair.

Suddenly the door opened, Lightning immediately cursed at herself for not locking it. She had regretted it though when she had seen the person standing at the doorway.

"Hey Light, can I come in?" Vanille asked as she leaned on the door frame.

"You're already in here aren't you?" Lightning said a smirk on her face. Vanille giggled.

"I guess..." Vanille walked over and sat beside Lightning. "So, are you okay?" Vanille asked in a low voice as she faced towards Lightning.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lightning said as she layed back down on the bed, facing away from Vanille.

"Are you sure about that?" Vanille asked as she layed beside Lightning. She began playing with her hair, which was out of it's usual style of being placed on her shoulder; It was splayed on the bed.

"..." Lightning remained silent as she felt strands of hair being gently pulled at. It made her blush a bit. If it were anyone else though, maybe except for Serah, then she probably would have slaughtered them.

"Light?" Vanille said as she pulled some strands from Lightning's face.

Lightning turned to look at her. Their faces were so close, they could feel each other's breath hit them. Neither dared to pull away though. They just stared into each other's eyes. The deep ocean sea collided with endless waves of the greenest meadows, both mixing together and becoming one. Vanille glanced down at Lightning's lips for a brief second, but that one second was all it took. Lightning in turn looked at Vanille's lips as she inched closer to them.

Vanille felt her heartbeat rock inside her chest, and her whole body felt as if it were jumping to the same rhythm. All of it was making her hands shake slightly. 'Is this really happening? What should I do?' Millions of questions popped into the girl's head at once.

But once their lips met, there wasn't a trace of worry or doubt in the younger girl's mind. Absolutely nothing was on her mind, besides the feeling of being kissed by Lightning. It was a soft and gentle kiss, but held such a powerful meaning.

Lightning pulled back, her eyes closed and her eyebrows furrowed together.

"Vanille, I'm so sorry. I don't know what I-" Lightning was silenced by Vanille's lips. Lightning opened her eyes, and just stared at Vanille as she continued kissing her.

Vanille pulled back, her face almost the same color as her hair.

"I was going to tell you... but, I guess I don't need to anymore." Vanille whispered and smiled brightly.

"Tell me what?" Lightning nearly shivered.

"Well, that I... like you." Vanille looked at the floor sheepishly.

"Like me?"

"Ugh, you're making this so difficult." Vanille mumbled as she buried her head into one of Lightning's pillows.

Lightning just laughed at her actions. Vanille pouted angrily into the pillow, then sat up.

"I was going to tell you that I like you more than just as a friend." She blurted out quickly in one breath, then slammed her face into the pillow again out of embarrassment.

Lightning only smiled at her childish antics.

Lightning reached for her, and pulled her head out from the pillow. She pulled Vanille towards her and gave her a hug. Vanille's eyes darted around the room.

'_What's this all of a sudden? This is not like her..._'

"Lightning, what are you-"

"Claire." Lightning whispered.

"What?" Vanille was really confused.

"If we are going to be together, you might as well know my true name." Vanille's eyes were wide. Was she asking her...

"W-What do you mean?"

"I am asking you if you want to go out with me." Lightning stated matter-of-factly.

Vanille's response: Hugging her and kissing her to death.

* * *

><p>Yeah it was a bit rushed, but I guess it will be from now on since I don't have my own computer. Again, sorry I was away for so long, at least I didn't leave you with another cliffhanger :P Anyway, reviews are greatly appreciated.<p> 


	8. Author's Note

A/N: Hello everyone, sorry to say, but I can't continue on with fanfiction anymore. I'm going to uni and I have work on top of it, so I barely have any time anymore. I'm very sorry if you liked this fanfic, but I just don't have the will or time to continue.

But, there is something I would like to ask. Is there anyone, anyone out there at all that would like to take over this fic for me? I hate to see it go to waste, seeing as it's pretty interesting and has a pretty good plot. I'm not going to tell you what to write. I want to see what you come up with, because I like surprises ;)

Anyway, review or message if you're interested. Goodbye FanFiction, I am truly saddened that I can't continue to contribute my works along with the other thousands of amazing writers on here. And I am so deeply sorry to my readers. All of your kind words in your reviews made me happy and more improved in my writing skills. But, hopefully soon enough you'll be reading this again, but just with a different writter. My good wishes to you all. If you'd still like to keep in touch with me, just send me an email to: raimeikuroiyahoo . com.


End file.
